"Physics- B.A. with Teaching of Science Concentrations" vs. a Regular Physics B.A.

elicue
Sun, 15 Feb 2015 09:20:47 +0000

Whoops, I’m sorry. It’s hard putting this into words I guess (good thing I’m not a writer).
Nope, it’s a BA. We also have a regular BA in physics and a regular BS in physics. Then some other concentrations too. My school (University at Buffalo) offers different types of BA and BS degrees for physics. I think you can get a BA or BS with other science majors too like Biology and Chemistry. A BA is a more well-rounded education whereas a BS is more focused on just science and math. So for a BA you would need some classes like art and a language.

You can switch your major at any time you like, even your last semester. All of my general education courses were already completed for political science, and they happened to be the same for physics. I think all the gen-ed classes are the same regardless of your major. There aren’t any pre-reqs for the major, unless you mean core classes (which honestly SHOULD have pre-reqs because the cores themselves are difficult).

I know I’m eligible for graduate study (I’m definitely going for it) but I’m just not sure if I would be qualified for other physics jobs. My advisor told me “You’ll basically have a degree in physics, it’s almost the same thing,” but I wasn’t sure if I believed him. I got the idea he was persuading me to do teaching which I didn’t like too much. But you’re right, I would be better off getting the full/plain physics degree anyway. I’m considering sticking with my teaching degree for now and doing just physics alone in grad school (with my teaching certificate of course) so I’ll probably have more options when I’m out. Thank you so much for your comment/advice, I appreciate it.